Odds On
by Aria Fox
Summary: Spoilers for LDYB part 2. It’s Kara’s wedding day, she panics, her boys worry and the crew place bets.


Title: Odds on 1/2

Summery: Spoilers for LDYB part 2. It's Kara's wedding day, she panics, her boys worry and the crew place bets.

Disclaimer: If they were mine Lee and his slippery towel would be in the opening credits.

Author's note: My first BSG fic so feedback would be great. I'm uploading this again really messed it up. I don't use exclamation points without something before it and I use full words.

_Even odds, Captain Thrace calls the wedding off._

Uncertainly her hands flutter over the red silk dress, its gold threads shimmered in the dim light of Admiral Adama's bathroom. Hanging from the shower rail are her dress grays; she could easily escape this façade of femininity and return to familiar stomping grounds.

_5 to 1 odds, Starbuck wears her uniform. _

Throughout the two battlestars, bets were being taken. To secure a win, Kat had offered her most elegant dress. Kara had to admit it was a beauty and on Kat, a much shorter woman, the hemline would hang past mid-thigh. Knowledge of the cigars in the pot and a side-deal with Helo were the only reasons she hadn't changed yet.

"Time to go, Kara." A lump formed in her throat at the gruff tenderness in the old man's voice.

_Commit yourself Starbuck, fire or break off_ Kara admonished the woman in the mirror. Inspirational platitudes, she found,had become SOP in the last few days.

Casting a final, longing look at her uniform, Kara picked up a yellow and red scarf and settled it around her elbows. Swallowing with difficulty, Kara joined Lee and the Admiral, who immediately rose to their feet.

Enjoying the dumbstruck expressions on their faces, Kara twirled aroundesisting the urge to tug at her skirt and stick out her tongue.

_6 to 1 odds The Old Man cries_

Bill Adama's face softened and he gently moved a stray hair away from her eyes. Kara's mouth trembled.

"I can't do this," she whispered.

"Then don't," came Lee's immediate reply. Glaring at his son over his shoulder, Adama shifted his bulk to remove Lee from her line of sight.

"You can do this," he insisted. Shaking her head, Kara backed away until firm hands stopped her retreat. "Do you love him?"

Lee snorted.

"Yes," she said decisively. If Lee hadn't been there, she might have confessed that she felt rushed, terrified she was latching onto Sam because he was warm and open, the kind of man who reminded her of Zak. But after their argument when she had informed him of the engagement, there was no way she would admit to any doubt.

"Then it'll be alright."

Kara stared at the floor. "If it's not enough?"

"No guarantees Kara but if you believe this is right then it's right."

"I don't want to screw up." She said quietly, speaking to the wall of uniform in front of her. If she pretended it was the thing in the room, she could acknowledge weakness.

The senior Adama snorted. "You throw yourself into things headfirst, damning the consequences and defying the odds. I've no doubt you'd have made my son happy, and Anders is an idiot if he doesn't thank the gods for you every day."

Kara smiled tremulously. "Sir, with respect, you're full of it."

A croak, sounding suspiciously like a rusty snigger escaped from Lee. "She's got you there Dad" Whatever amusement he felt was quickly stifled though Kara resentfully. A practised mask of indifference settled and hardened Lee's features. "Sir" e quickly amended.

"Enough," Adama muttered. "Is Anders marrying into this family or not?"

"No."

"Yes."

Kara glared, Lee focused on the bookcase.

"You don't get a say," she exclaimed in frustration.

"Sure I do, Anders isn't marrying into us, you're marrying out" Lee pointed out with coldly.

"! Wait outside." Admiral Adama waited for the heavy hatch to close before pulling out a velvet box from his pocket.

Ashen-faced, Kara stared blankly at the place Lee had been standing. She had assumed the Admiral had meant the _Galatica _family. But Lee was right; whatever connection she had to the Adamas was gone. The tenuous link of friendship was obviously on the verge of snapping, and having once been Zak's fiancé wasn't a familial bond.

"Kara, Kara look at me." Blindly, she raised her eyes to his craggy face. "You're family," he insisted, "nothing will change that. Marry twenty men and I'll still see you as mine, part of us."

He opened the box and inside a simple silver band gleamed.

"But you already gave us a gift." Kara objected. A book of poetry written during the first Cylon war, it was a nice gift, respectable, one a commanding officer would give his CAG. Silently hurt by such an impersonal present, Starbuck had taken it as a sign of how things would be from now on and protected herself accordingly. But through the entire morning, it had felt as though the Old Man was taking a sledgehammer to her carefully constructed walls.

A lavish breakfast, offering his quarters to get ready in, making the junior officers cater to her every whim…

"This was my grandmother's, a present from her mother-in-law. You see these symbols?" Watching the Admiral trace the outside of the band with his thumb. Kara thought she just make out some faint markings.

"Yes."

"In the ancient language it means 'welcome to us'." Ignoring Starbuck's stuttered refusal, Adama closed the band around her arm with a click. "You are family."

…and now family heirlooms. How was she supposed to safeguard herself from this man?

A polite cough drew their attention towards the hatch.

"We should be in the air already," Lee explained, "we're going to miss our slot with the priest."

Apollo breaks Anders in half, odds: 3 to 1 

For an endless second their eyes met and something other than hostility escaped Lee's maskremorse.

Kara's breathing became a little easier; he was still her friend. Gods kn why, ut he would forgive her attack on Dee and eventually they would be okay, because he was Lee. A much better and bigger person than she was. Briefly, ara let herself marvel at the possibility that there was more to Lee's anger, ut shickly pushed the thought away, into aental box crammed full of other Lee-relted unacceptable thoughts and feelings.

Kara touched the armband for reassurance and tried to smile. "Let's go."

Following Admiral Adama out the hatch, they made their way through _Galatica'_s decks, acknowledging salutes and well wishes from the crew as they passed. Most of had been at the informal bachelorette party the previous night. To see them now, all professional and military propriety, made her chuckle in remembrance.

"What?" Lee asked.

"Nothing." Grinning widely, Starbuck winked at Gaeta, who blushed prettily. Who knew that boy was such an enthusiastic dancer? A group striptease from the eligible males of the ship had been very…entertaining. It was a memory she would treasure into old age, if she go there, and Racetrack had taken pictures. The blackmail would start as soon as she could get them developed.

Now Lee was catching on. "Did you have fun?"

Giddy in the wake of their silent reconciliation Kara leaned into him, speaking directly into his ear. "They were naked."

"Who?"

Laughing at Lee's sudden undivided attention, Kara shook her head. "Sorry Lee, but I don't tattle."

"Funny, I remember a certain pilot who was more than happy to gossip about a fellow pilot dating a certain captain's daughter." He almost had it, the words and tone were perfect, classic Starbuck and Apollo. But there was no smile playing on his lips, no sidelong glances and the body against hers was unyielding.

All wasn't forgiven yet but that was okay, she could wait him out.

"Dating? Is that what you call it? And that gossip put you on the map." Striving for playful Kara feared she only managed to sound spiteful. He was better at pretending,too.

Lee tugged at her hair, hand lingering before pulling again. "You were being a bitch."

Caught by Lee's softening eyes, Kara was very aware that he was returning her lean. Shying away from memories of those hands on bare skin and hungry lips, Kara absently wished for the simplicity of their nugget rivalry. It had been so much easier. Now memories crowded their every interaction making it hard to remember which category they currently fell into. Friend/Enemy/Partner/Boss/Lover/Rival once they could have been any or all but then she had fraked it all up, over and over.

"So were you," she stated in a heated whisper, a hand shielding her face from the old man's querying look.

"Proportional response," Lee insisted blandly.

"Stealing my clothes?"

_5 to 4 odds Starbuck and Apollo have a no holds barred brawl at the ceremony_

"Proportional." It hadn't been, but back then Lee's icy vindictiveness had been something she respected not dreaded. "Wish I could have been there," Lee said, referring to her party.

"Me too." Moving away, Kara instantly felt cold.

A commander didn't go to a pilot's last rites send off. An early appearance was welcome, before people got too drunk and unfortunate words ended career - that was what the Admiral and Tigh had done. Clearly that wasn't Lee's reason, but it was a damned good excuse.

She knew he thought she was making a mistake. 'You hardly know him!' 'You don't jump blindly into marriage Kara!' 'For once would you fraking think!' Lee's angry words haunted her and Kara wished she could say he was completely wrong but, and Gods she hated to admit it, he wasn't. She wasn't thinking and this wedding had definitely not been her idea, in less than three days she had gone from single but happily getting laid to engaged and in two hours time, married. Even in her most secret dreams marriage had no longer been in play. But heavy drinking, lamenting Baltar's presidency, a place to call home Sam being whole and at her side had made her susceptible to Sam's enthusiasm for the idea.

And wasn't it what she'd been longing for? A second chance, to not be the eternal screw up and find someone she could be herself with, no judgement, no expectations? Someone impetuous that loved her without reservation, who made her feel strong? Steady Lee with his calm happiness with Dualla had no right to judge. She was taking this crazy chance and running with it.

Sam was everything she needed.

Apollo and Starbuck get their heads out of their asses and frak each other's brains out, any takers?


End file.
